When pain is your trusted companion

We all laugh at the generic hospital pain scales that we see posted at different medical facilities. The truth is, we live with pain just like we would tolerate a distant relative who has overstayed their welcome. Though sadly, after so many years, pain is only noticed when it's screaming at you in the face. No one gets it. No one gets that every move, every feeling has to be precisely calculated. One super stressful day, one sickness, one wrong response can trigger a series of events that can take weeks to overcome. In the meantime, your heating pad becomes your best friend and you keep telling yourself and everyone around you that you're just fine. Mind over matter. If we ever did let ourselves give into pain, the outcome could be debilitating. But how can we allow pain to have that much power? Sometimes grabbing the mythical bull by the horns and hanging on for the ride is the only choice we have.